Search This Blog

Beer of the Weekend @ 5

It is eight o’clock and I do not have any obligations tonight. April has been a long, tiring month, so I thought I would sit back with a brew (a Mendocino Black IPA), watch the Cubs (via the Fox Sports San Diego feed on MLB Network, oddly), and look back at the fifth year of Beer of the Weekend.

April 19 marked the fifth anniversary of my first Beer of the Weekend post. Five years. Damn. Should I be making a big deal out of it? Other than wondering, “Has it really been that long?” It certainly does not feel like it — probably because the years have been so tasty.

I have drank a lot of beer since that first tasting. (I have often thought about revisiting Red Seal Ale for the hell of it.) Not much has changed since those first, awkward posts. Each new tasting fits in a standard template — perhaps to the point of predictability. Every week I seem to use the term “dissipated” when describing the head of a beer. I have tried not to in the past couple months and need to continue to challenge myself not to rely on tired old words and descriptions.

Speaking of tired old words, I am going to say it again: I need to try shittier beers. Honestly, though, I no longer vet my choices as I once did. But, having spent so much time in the beer aisle, I know what to avoid. I shy away from new, mostly untested breweries (or breweries I know that have bad reviews). I also judge beers by their labels. I need to stop that. (When I think of shitty beer, I always think of the Stevens Point Brewery and its pointy-headed mascot. I have no clue why. (David Lynch had Eraserhead. Stevens Point has Pencil Head.) I did try Nude Beach Summer Wheat, and it did not make a good first impression. If anything screams “Don’t try this,” it is a man with a pointy head.)

The Primo Island Lager BotW@5 Worst Beer Award: I would pick Kaiserdom Club-Malz, but it is not beer. Nothing else comes to mind immediately, but looking through the list I see that Old Style holds the distinction of having the lowest grade: D+. It is somewhat fitting since the Cubs are losing, 9-4. (They gave up a solo homer for the Padres’ ninth run just as I was writing that.) Honestly, Old Style deserves it. In the review I wrote, “Instead of being cursed by a goat, I think the Cubs are cursed by Old Style.” Enough said.

BotW@5 Best Beer Award: Zombie Dust. Not only was it the only beer to garner an A+ grade this past year, it is by far the best pale ale I have ever had.

I am 37, quiet, and shy. My obsession is everyday life. I love the small and mundane. I'm easily pleased.
As a kid, when my family took long trips, I entertained myself by looking out the car window, admiring the landscape we passed. I studied the farm houses, the barns, the faces of people in small towns, and the rows of corn and beans blanketing the Iowa countryside. I tried capturing every last detail as my eyes roved from one thing to another.
That's me.